The Bishop's Daughter

This book definitely had its flaws. Darrin's change of heart seemed *awfully* sudden, for one thing. However, I suppose it's not completely impossible to have a moment of truth or something. Anyway, the one thing that I really loved about this book was that it seemed a lot more realistic and honest about the flaws of Christians and humans in general than most Christian fiction. Emoni and Darrin both understood their sinfulness and worked to move beyond it.

Tiffany Warren is able to craft a compelling story. I received the book as an LT Early Reviewer and I'm very much not in the book's target demographic--I'm an atheist who doesn't read romance or chick-lit but likes erotica--and I'll admit that I was eager to find out what happened to the characters.
Unfortunately, I couldn't give the book higher marks because there are some structural problems with it. The ultimate conflict of the book was minimal and was almost immediately resolved. Also, the characters felt very two-dimensional. Darrin's conversion felt very rushed and I found it hard to believe that an avowed player would immediately change his ways after a few church visits.
Ultimately, this is an adequate light read but it isn't very show more taxing. show less

Well, granted, I'm probably not the intended audience for this book (being a Jewish white person), but I didn't really enjoy the book as much as I hoped to.

Brief plot summary: Darrin, a smooth ladies-man from Ohio, decides to go to Atlanta to write a muckraking story about Bishop Prentiss, a Bishop of a mega-church. Along the way, he gets involved with the Bishop's daughter Emoni and gets closer to the Prentiss family than he intended. Will he renounce his ways and learn a better way to live?

Predictably, I can tell you yes. (SPOILER ALERTS) I knew going in this would be a light romance novel and I wasn't terribly surprised by the fact that Darrin and Emoni end up together. But I was confused as to the intended age level. Many characters show more and plot points are underdeveloped to the point where I thought it was meant for a pre-teen audience, but so much of the content has to do with sex that I would never let a pre-teen read it. For example, Darrin's father goes from disapproving of everything to having a heart attack to being rushed to the hospital, treated, and pronounced okay, and Darrin making his way in and them apologizing to each other in a grand total of THREE PAGES.

(MORE SPOILER ALERTS) I was also a little concerned about the message that is sent by the storyline of Emoni's younger sister Sascha. She gets pregnant and abortion is instantly dismissed and her boyfriend proposes and anyone who is uncomfortable after a little while is laughed at and they get married and couldn't be happier. ...I could be wrong, but I feel like many romances where the couple dropped out of college to be with each other and then get pregnant and scramble to get married don't exactly have a fairy-tale ending. I wasn't really okay with the fact that it was presented like it does.

On a more positive note, it is definitely a page-turner. Even when I was rolling my eyes at some of the more ridiculous things (Darrin being saved in approximately one service), I didn't want to put it down. show less

The Bishop’s Daughter is a fun, quick read that I truly enjoyed. Warren alternates the chapters between Darrin and Emoni’s perspectives, which could be a positive or negative aspect to the book, depending on how you look at it. On the one hand, the reader knows that both Darrin and Emoni are interested in one another, so there’s really no “mystery” as far as their relationship is concerned. But on the other hand, the reader really gets to know and love both characters, and the dual perspective helps attain a more well-rounded understanding of both characters’ backgrounds and feelings. I personally loved the alternating viewpoints - I think it added much more to the story than if it had been written from just Darrin’s point show more of view or just Emoni’s point of view.

Darrin and Emoni are both multi-dimensional, interesting characters and I enjoyed reading about both of them. Warren also did a decent job developing some of the minor characters, including the Bishop as well as Dorcas, a woman that Emoni sort of has to compete with for Darrin’s affection. The story moved along quite well - it was perfect for a long, lazy rainy day of reading… it would also make a fantastic “beach read” because the plot is pretty light and easy to get into. I really enjoyed The Bishop’s Daughter and would recommend it. show less

It's been awhile since I read a Christian fiction novel... and unlike others, this one struck me as more honest. It showed that despite the same faith the characters share... they are flawed, but willing to make up for their sins and to try their best anyways. I liked how each chapter was through either Darrin or Emoni's point of view and you got to see what they were thinking, that wasn't exactly seen through their actions. If anything, I just find Darrin's transformation one that seemed too easy. He went from skeptical to believing in a matter of minutes, and I wonder if it's either Bishop Prentiss' power or Darrin's own flightiness.
I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in Christian fiction, it's not a must-read... but a book show more you might like for fun. show less

Perfect for : Personal reading, book club read (discussion questions included)

In a nutshell: The book is written in three voices: 1. Darin Bainbridge 2. The Diary of a Mad Black Blogger (Darin's online blog personality), 3. Emoni Prentiss (the eldest daughter of Bishop Prentiss, single). Darin learns of Bishop Kumal Prentiss from his current fling, and decides that the Bishop and his 30,000+ followers are worth investigating - there has to be some scandal surrounding the Bishop! He travels from Cleveland to Atlanta to write the story, and as he goes to the church to begin investigating, his life begins to change in ways he least expected! It took quite a few chapters for me to really get hooked, but somewhere around chapter 14 I show more couldn't put the book down! This is a wonderful story about a pastor and his family, and how God works and touches everyone's lives.

Extended Review: He wants to write an expose about Bishop Prentiss, whom he is determined is cheating his 30,000+ followers somehow - Darin just needs to discover what he is doing! She wants to find a husband, but being the eldest daughter of Bishop Prentiss has made Emoni sort of off-limits so far! Darin is immediately appreciative of Emoni when he sees her in church, but he is determined not to become involved with her because it could compromise his goal of writing an expose on her father. The Bishops family is lovable in a quirky sort-of down-home way. I liked the fact that they were real people trying to make the best choices.

Characters: Darin Bainbridge is the son of a wealthy business owner who has been living off his father with the help of his mother, he is now on a mission to write an expose article about Bishop Prentiss, a very successful preacher with 30,000+ followers. Darin also writes a blog: The Diary of a Mad Black Blogger, where he talks about what is going on in his life/investigations. Then we have the handsome (not pretty) Emoni Prentiss, the single, eldest daughter of Bishop Prentiss.

Story-Line: We get a good look into the Bishop's family - both ups and downs - as Darin joins the church and becomes close to the family during the course of his investigation. Darin too undergoes life changing events, and must ultimately decide whether or not to share what he does learn about the family.

Readability: I struggled with the a little of the blogging dialect, but grew used to it. Otherwise, the book was a fairly easy and quick read.

Overall: I've never really considered what it would be like to be a pastor's daughter. This book presented readers with a nice look into one such family, and how faith and family impacted each person, including friends of the family. In the end, we learn that sometime it is good to leave some skeletons in the closet, while embracing others. I enjoyed the ending of the book and feel that the discussion questions at the end are very thoughtful. show less

The Bishop's Daughter follows Emoni, the eldest daughter of Bishop Prentiss; as well as Derrin Bainbridge, her love interest. Emoni is the ever reliable, girl-next-store who sometimes tries too hard not to be a "wild PK" (preacher's kid). Darrin is a handsome and together writer but living off his parent's money. He wants the story of a lifetime but is unwilling to betray the Prentiss Family, that had brought him into their lives. The two navigate their feelings for each other while trying to balance their futures.

The story is beautiful and not-at-all preachy. It is enthralling, I took this for some "bathtub reading" and read the whole thing in one sitting. The character's are relatable, and the book leaves you with a peaceful satisfied show more feeling. show less